Magazine publisher Future to snap up rival Dennis for £300m

Media giant Future has bought Dennis, the publisher behind a raft of titles including current affairs title The Week, in a £300 million deal.

Shares in Future, which owns titles including Marie Claire, Country Life and FourFourTwo, rose higher after the acquisition was announced to the stock market.

The company will buy Dennis from private equity giant Exponent, which bought the business for £166 million in 2018.

The acquisition will not include four Dennis titles – Viz, Fortean Times, Cyclist and Expert Reviews – which will be retained by Exponent.

The acquired business consists of a number of wealth and business-to-business titles, such as MoneyWeek, Science & Nature, and PC Pro.

Future said the move will help to expand its reach in the US, where 56% of Dennis revenues are currently generated.

Future chief executive Zillah Byng-Thorne said: “I am delighted to announce the acquisition of a high-quality portfolio of Dennis’ trusted brands that will accelerate our strategy, enhance our content capabilities and bring additional geographical and vertical revenue diversification, whilst materially increasing the proportion of recurring revenues across the group.

“I look forward to welcoming our new colleagues to Future, and to continuing the successful execution of our strategy to generate long-term sustainable growth and attractive returns for our shareholders.”

James Tye, chief executive at Dennis, said: “In the three years that the business has been owned by Exponent, Dennis has been on an incredible growth journey, delivering double-digit increases in subscription revenues, a greatly increased US footprint, and significant bottom-line increases.

“This is a testament to the talented team at Dennis who have helped make all of this happen.

“We look forward to working with the team at Future to continue growing the reach, influence and value of all our key brands and businesses.”

Shares were 7.4% higher at 3,958p in early trading on Monday.